Quick, when was the last time you were doing an activity and you did not have your phone with you?
It goes without saying that in 2023 all of us tend to have our phones with us – always. Even just a few short years ago not many people considered the need for mounting a phone on a dirt bike, and that may be true if all you cared about was listening to tunes.
In 2023, there are more and more apps available to enhance your ride, from detailed trail maps to apps for Enduro and Motocross riders.
The big question is, are there any dirt bike phone mounts that can be secure enough during such intense riding? Read on, and I will break that down for you.
What to Consider for a Dirt Bike Phone Mount
Location
There is no point in searching for mounts unless you have some sort of idea for where you would like to have it mounted.
The preferred choices tend to come down to 2 main areas, front-and-center, or out closer to your hand.
Each manufacturer I will show you has optional mounting hardware that will work for many locations on the handlebars, even if you have changed your factory bars to a fat/tapered style.
Most mounts offer various adaptors to take advantage of the bolt locations on your bar clips or the clutch/brake lever bolts. When considering where to position the mount my advice is to try and keep your phone close to the top of your forks, in tight where it would be the least likely to get smacked during a fall.
Even during those spills that pitch you forward toward the bars, if the mount is low and centered, it will likely avoid being caught up by trees or your body coming off the bike.
Mount Type
Dirt bike phone mounts fall into three unique methods for gripping a phone. Here are my thoughts on the pros and cons of each:
- Claw/X Mounts: Spring-loaded clamp that holds the phone at 4 corners
- Will hold all phone sizes even with a case on the phone
- Easily transitions between Portrait and Landscape orientation
- Easy to use
- Not always the strongest grip
- Sometimes catch the buttons on the sides of phones
- Side Grip
- Will hold all phone sizes even with a case on the phone
- Easily transition between Portrait and Landscape orientation
- Sometimes two hands are needed to install the phone
- Phone can occasionally move around inside the mount
- Case Connected
- Very easy to mount and remove phone
- Easily transition between Portrait and Landscape orientation
- Very strong grip on the phone
- Requires a proprietary case, which may cost extra
- If you change phones you need to change cases
Dirt bike phone mounts are often made from either plastic or aluminum. While both can be strong, the aluminum mounts still win in the toughness tests.
Vibration control is the last main feature of modern phone mounts. Not everyone offers it, and while that may not be much of an issue for riders on massive touring machines, it is absolutely an issue for a dirt bike.
Phones these days are not cheap, and the internal cameras keep getting better and are more important functions of our devices. Those internal cameras don’t do well with long periods of intense vibration. Look for a dirt bike phone mount that has some vibration damping or use a case that can help with that.
Which Dirt Bike Phone Mounts Are Best?
TechMount – TechGripper
The TechGripper is a side grip style holder with a strong spring and a 4.3” of opening space. The inside of the holders have a curve to them, which may cause your phone to move a small amount on firm impacts, but is not likely to come out.
TechMount builds its products from robust plastic, and allows the choice between 17mm ball mounts and 1” ball mounts. One of the best reasons to look at the TechGripper is the massive selection of mounting hardware.
I would choose the 1” mounting ball, it offers more strength and stability, then find the right mount for your bars or a bolt-on option. They will have a solution for your application.
Although they claim “arms move independently to absorb shaking and vibration,” that absorption is not as good as some competitors.
Quad Lock
Quad Lock has taken the market by storm thanks to their well-engineered mounts known to be solid and very easy to use.
The Quad Lock system requires a specific case for your phone, which is made from durable polycarbonate and offers shock-absorbing protection for your phone during regular use. The back of the case is cutout with 4 slots meant to mate up with the 4 tabs on the mount. Simple to use one-handed, the on-and-off process is quick and secure each time.
Looking at the mounting choices there will be no issue finding a bar mount that fits your bike. They have some choices for bolt mounts, but you will need to do some digging depending on what you have in mind.
Where the Quad Lock system excels is the secure connection. Once it is clicked on, it isn’t going anywhere.
The handlebar mount is made from strong glass-filled nylon or a more robust anodized aluminum. They also offer an optional vibration damper, I highly recommend choosing this feature, it does help considerably.
The Quad Lock system is definitely a premium price, but the strength, ease of use, vibration control, and choices of mounts for all your vehicles, make it well worth a look.
Ram Mount – RAM® X-Grip
Ram Mounts may be the most recognizable mount name out there. Simply stated, Ram has a solution for your bike. Starting with the Ram X-Grip, it is made of high-strength composite and stainless steel, it is quite durable, but Ram supplies a rubber tether which when used does an excellent job of keeping the phone in place.
If you choose the Snap Link Touch Claw bar mount, it will do an excellent job on odd-shaped bars like Renthal Fat bars. The mechanism opens wide allowing for quick and easy removal. Have a look through the Ram website, there are options for brake/clutch mounts, triple tree mounts, and all manner of creative solutions.
The main drawback with any X/Claw mount relates to squeezing side buttons on phones. If you aren’t sure about an X-Grip, Ram offers a few other methods for gripping your phone, even when it is in a case.
Ram also offers a lifetime warranty on their products.
Tackform
Tackform is a ball-and-socket style mount with a side grip phone holder. Sounds simple right?
So why do I like them for dirt bike applications? The mount is made from high-strength aluminum, and I love their test video dropping a 16lb bowling ball onto the mount. This is a very strong mounting device.
The side clamps have a strong spring and definitely do a good job holding onto the side of your phone even in a case, but Tackform does offer a rubber tether for less than $10, and I highly recommend adding that on.
The standard bar mount works for up to a 1.25” bar, but they have an optional part to go up to 1.5”.
They do not have any specific vibration-damping system, but this mount will be the strongest choice on this list. They offer a lifetime warranty on all metal parts.
Best Dirt Bike Phone Mount
Peak Design
You thought for sure I would be choosing the Quad Lock as best? I do indeed like the Quad Lock system, and it was definitely a disruptor to the motorcycle mount market when it came out. Peak Designs has simply used a similar concept and improved it in almost every way.
The Peak Designs system is a mount and a proprietary phone case, so in that sense, it is similar to the Quad Lock, but that’s it.
The Peak Designs mount uses a machined/anodized aluminum mounting head & arm with stainless steel hardware. The connector to the phone case they call Slimlink. It is a Magnetic locking technology that is incredibly easy to use, slips on intuitively and releases even easier with or without your gloves on.
The vibration dampening is excellent. Peak Designs claims it is the best in the industry, and without having a way of measuring that myself I will leave that claim as theirs alone.
As for the phone case? It is a good case and I prefer it over the Quad Lock case. The form factor of the connection is smaller, and the case just looks better to me.
The only real drawbacks I can note about this fantastic mount would be they only have a bar and a stem mount so far. That wouldn’t matter much to me because I would choose a bar mount. Then it is the price. Peak Designs is a premium product and carries a premium price.
A slightly improved connection compared to the Quad Lock, great vibration damping, and an all-metal construction similar to the Tackform. That definitely makes the Peak Designs Motorcycle mount the best choice in my opinion for the extreme riding conditions of dirt bikes.
